Gas-producer.



A. P. MATLAGK.

GAS PRODUCER.

APPLIUATION FILED 0015,1910.

Patented May '7, 1912.

2 SHBETSSHEET l.

glwcmfoz vilerrfiifarhch," 1 7 I Helmet 5:

Adm M W A. F. MATLAOK.

GAS PRODUCER.

APPLICATION FILED 0015:1910. 1,025, 1 98. Patented May 7, 1912.

2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

Snow doc ALBERT F. MATIiACK, 0i" PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVAN IA.

eas rnonucim.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented May 7 1 912.

Application filed October 5, 191.0. Serial No. 585,524..

To all whom it may concern.

Be it lmown that I, ALBERT F. MATLAOK, C, the inner wall of which isprovided with.

a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphiaand State of Pennsylvania,- have invented) certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Producers, of which the following 1s. a specification, reference being had. therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to an improvement in gas producers and: one'of the objects of the present invention is the provision: of a device of this character ill-Which thefinest and softest kinds of fuel can be used, part-icularly thosefuels containing a high percentage of tarry and volatile matters, without the attending evils which have hereto-- fore existed when attempts have been made to utilize fuel of this nature.

A further object of the invention is. the provision of means for increasing the size of the zone of combustionin the producer withoutimpairing the efliciency thereof so: that substantially all of the fuel products will be converted into gas.

A further object of the presentin'ventiom is the provision of a gas producer of such a nature that a deeper bed of fuel can be utilizedthan with the producers heretofore inuse.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for agitating the entirebed of fueland for eflecting the passage of heated air and steam therethrough to convert the sameinto gas.

Other objects of the invention. wilL be'.

apparent from the detailed description herematter when-read in connection with the: accompanying drawings forming a part:

hereof wherein a convenient embodiment of? the invention is illustrated and wherein like numerals of reference refer to similar parts. in the several views.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved producer, Fig.

2 is a top plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a transverse'section through the suction.

box, the hearth being shown in elevation.

Referrin I now more particularly to the drawings designates a suitable base or support upon which is positioned a horizontally arrangedplate A. Extendingupwardly from the legs or supp rts palate-A" are a plurality of' upon the tops of which is supported an annular hollow suction, box

a plurality of openings 0 therein, within eachof which; is-positioned a suitable screen. '0'. Supported upon. the hollow suction box face of which. is' in alinement with andforms, a continuation of the exposed face of the inner wall; of the. suction box C. Supported .upontheheater box. Dis the body' E. of the producer, which is convenientlyfonmed of fire brick and; is. preferably circular in cross. section, the inner wall of said producer fformi-ng a. continuation of the fire brick facing Dv of the heater box. Formed in. the

:body of the producer E are a, plurality of longitudinally "disposedlducts e, the. lower ends-of which communicate with the heater box D and the upper ends of which communicate with a distributing cham- ;ber F which is secured in the top of the body of the; producer. ingwith the distributingbox F and. extending downwardly therefrom into the body ofthe producer is a blast pipe G, which. is preferably circular incross section'and. isflared outwardly from the inlet end' to the. discharge end thereof. .with: the-annular heater box.- D heretofore -.describedis an. air-pipe D which leads from Communicat- Communicating a blower or other suitable source. of' air heater box. It will be understood. that the air on steam, or both, which is fed to the heater box D will pass therefrom through the ducts e to the distributing chamber F and from thence under pressure through the blast pipe onto the upper portion. of the 'bed of fuel, The air and steam. which is admitteditothe heater box is caused, to traverse substantially the entire body of the producer before it is admitted to the bed of fuel so that it absorbs considerable heat in transit, which causes an initial decompo- .sition of the steam and increases toa malunderpressure. Communicating with the .a-ir pipe D adjacent its-junction with the ;heater' box isa. steam pipe D which leads from: a steam boiler or other suitable source of steam under pressure! Suitable, valves are interposed in. the steam and. air pipes .just described sothat either air or steam, or both, may be fedunder pressure to the from the inneredge of which extends aplurality of downwardly extendin'g closely spaced vertical grate bars H, and the inner surface of the annular grate thus formed is in alinement with and forms a continuation of the exposed surface of the inner wall of the suction box. Surrounding the legs B is an annular wall I which cooperates with the plate A heretofore referred to, to form a water seal basin in which water is maintained by any suitable means at a level slightly above the tops of the vertical grate bars H.

K designates the hearth which is circular in form and is of a size to almost completely fill the space. within the grate bars H. The hearth K is mounted upon a shaft K which passes through a packed bearing in the bot-' tom of the water seal pit and has its lower end journaled in a step bearing secured to any suitable base. Secured to the shaft K is a gear wheel K with which meshes a gear wheel K mounted upon an actuating shaft K which is journaled in any suitable bearing. The actuating shaft maybe driven in any suitable manner to impart a rotary motion to the parts but I prefer to utilize driving means therefor of such a character that an alternate rotationwill be imparted to the hearth, it being rotated in one direction for one complete revolution and then rotated in the opposite direction for another complete revolution, this 0 eration being tween the depending vertical .incident with the peripheryof the hearth proper while the supporting surfaces of all of said plat orms are inclined upwardly toward the highest point of the hearth and are co-incident at the highest point of the hearth. From this construction it will be seen that the edges of the several .fuel supporting platforms constitute a plurality of eccentrics which during the rotation of the hearth serve to gently push the ashes from the center of the hearth toward the peripherythereof and out through the spaces be-. ate bars H and that as the hearth is rota ed the entire bed of fuel is constantly agitated, the body of fuel on one side of the hearth being elevated while that on the other side is being lowered. The hearth may be made up of any number of eccentrically arranged fuel platforms and is of such a height that fully one-half of the supporting surface thereof is positioned above the top of the vertical grate bars and as only the materials which are on the portions of the hearth below the tops of said grate bars can be forced out between such grate bars, it will be apparent that the falling of any unburned fuel or incandescent fuel into the ash pit is eflectually prevented.

L designates a fuel hopper which is supported in any suitable manner upon the top of the producer body E and the lower portion of which is provided with two discharge troughs Z l which communicate by discharge pipes Z with the top of the producer body E. The troughs Z Z are in alinement and rotatably supported in said troughs are oppositely directed conveyer screws Z Z which when rotated serve to force fuel from the hopperL through the discharge pipe Z Z into the top of the producer body E. The conveyer screws Z Z are supported upon a shaft M which carries a pinion M in mesh with a pinion N secured upon the upper end of a vertically disposed shaft N which is journaled in a suitable bearing secured to the top of the producer body E and which extendsdownwardly through the distributer box F and intothe blast nozzle G leading therefrom. Secured to the lower end of the shaft N and projecting beyond the lower end of the blast nozzle G are stirrers O which are plowshaped and are adapted to project downwardly into the bed of fuel. The stirrers 0 form a cone-head against which the air and steam from the blast pipe G is delivered so that such air and steam is thrown outwardly and delivered into the furrows made in the body of the fuel by the stirrers. The shaft N is provided adjacent its upper end with a pinion N with which meshes a worm P which is secured to a horizontally arranged shaft P mounted to rotate in suitable bearings secured to the top of the ro- -ducer body. The shaft P is connected y a suitable gearing to the shaft K ,'heretofore referred to, 'so as to run in unison therewith and the gearing which drives the shaft N and the stirrers O is of such arrangement and construction that said stirrers will be rotated in the same direction and at the same speed as the hearth, thereby picking up the motion to the bed of fuel produced by the hearth. This construction is of importance where a very deep bed of fuel is used, as it is found that the hearth alone does not give suflicient agitation to the entire bed. of fuel above a certain depth.

Leading from the suction boxC at the lower end of the producer body is a. gas outlet pipe C which leads to any suitable suction device, which may be of any well known 5 construction and has not therefore been illustrated. Y 1 The ashes which are forced through the grate bars H may be removed from the water seal pit in any suitable manner and in the present embodiment of the invention I have illustrated an elevator Q which may be used for this purpose. The elevator (.1 may if desired be driven from the shaft P. In the use of the device theair and steam are fed under pressure to the top of the bed of fuel and suction is applied to the pipe C, the gases being drawn through the openings c in the suction box and passed to any suitable scrubber or purifying device. By 0 using the suction applied to the lower. portion of the bed of fuel and by feeding the air and steam to the upper portion of the bed of fuel under pressure, it has been found that the producer has been rendered far more etlicient than any other down draft producer heretofore in use which employs either pressure or suction alone, and this is due largely to the fact that the zone of combustion is substantially increased in sizewithout in anyway increasing the pressure of the air and steam to such an extent as to impair the efficiency of the furnace, and by reason of this fact the producer herein described is particularly eflicacious in the 5 treatment of fuel containing tar and other volatile matter.

The water seal performs a distinct function in connection with a producenof the type described in that it prevents the gas 0 from passing from the bottom of the ash pit and confines the gases to the ash zone,

through which the gases must pass before passing into the suction box C. This arrangement serves to partially scrub the gas 5 as any heavier particles of tar-which may remain in the gas are eliminated by the passage of the gas through the ashes and are passed out through the annular grate with the ashes. e

While a convenient embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that many changes may be made to the form and construction therein shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the-appended claims.

I claim 1. In a gas producer, a body, a gas outlet port adjacent the lower end of the body of the producer, a rotary stirrer positioned in the top of the body of the producer, and a fixed blast pipe surrounding said stirrer and positioned to discharge thereon.

2. lln a gas producer, a body, a gas outlet port adjacent the lower end of the body of the producer, a fixed blast pipe positioned in the upper portion of the body of the pro- .ducer, a vertical shaft rotatably supported in the upper portion of the producer within said blast pipe, a col ie-shaped stirrer secured to the lower end of said shaft and projecting without the blast pipe, means for rotating said shaft.

3. In a gas producer, a body, a gas outlet port adjacent the lower end of the body of the producer, a fixed blast pipe positioned in the upper portion of the body of the producer, a vertical shaft rotatably supported in the upper portion of the producer within said blast pipe, a cone-shaped stirrer secured to the lower end of saidshaft and project-- ing without the blast pipe, a rotary hearth positioned in the lower end of the producer, and means for rotating said hearth and stirmi in the same direction.

4. 'In a gas producer, a body providedwith a plurality of passages in the wall 3 thereof and with a gas outlet port adjacent the lower end thereof, a blast nozzle fixed in the upper portion of the producer body and depending therefrom, said nozzle being in communication with the upper end of the passages in the producer body, a heater box encircling the producer body and in communication with the lower end of the passages in the producer body, a stirrer rotatably supported in the upper portion ofthe producer. body within the blast nozzle and projecting therebelow, and a fluid supply pipe communicating with said heater box;

In a gas producer, a body provided with a plurality of passages in the wall thereof and with a gas outlet port adjacent the lower end thereof, a blast nozzle fixed in the upper portion of the'producer body and depending therefrom, said nozzle being in communication with the upper ends of the passages in the producer body, a heater box encircling the producer body and in communication with the lower end of the passages in the producer body, a stirrer rotatably supported in the upper portion of the producer body within the blast nozzle and projecting therebelow, and a fluid supply pipe communicating with said heater box, a hearth rotatably supported in the lower end of the producer body, and means for rotatdirection.

6. In a gas producer, a circular body, an

annular suction box at the lower end of said body provided with a plurality of gas inlet ports in the inner wall thereof, a suction pipe leading from said suction box, an annular grate depending from said suction box and forming a continuation of the inner wall thereof, an imperforate hearth rotatably supported inthe lower portion of said producer body, said hearth being provided with means for agitating the body of fuel ing said hearth and stirrer in the same upon rotation thereof andfor effecting the lateral discharge of the ashes thereon through said annular grate, and means for delivering fluid under pressure into the upper portion of the producer body.

7. In a gas producer, a body, an annular suction box at the lower end of said body' providedwith a plurality of gas inlet ports in the inner Wall thereof, a suction pipe leading from said suction box, an annular grate depending from said suction box and forming a continuation thereof, an imperforate circular hearth rotatably supported in the space surrounded by said annular grate, the supporting surface ofsaid hearth being formed of a plurality of stepped plat,-

forms, a portion of which are positioned above the top of said annular grate and a portion 'of which. are positioned below the top of said annular grate, and means for delivering fluid under pressure into the upper portion of'the producer body.

. 8. In a gas producer, a body, an annular grate depending from the lower end of said ody, an imperforate hearth rotatably supported in the space surrounded by the annular grate and provided with means for agitating the bed of fuel and for elfecting lateral movement of the ashes thereon through said grate upon the rotation of the hearth, a gas outlet pipe communicating with the lower portion of the producer body, means'for" supplying fluid to the upper portion of'the producer body, a rotary stirrer in the upper portion of the producer body,

and means. for rotating said stirrer and hearth in the same direction in unison.

for the lower end of the producer body, a hearth rotatably supported in the space surrounded by the annular grate and provided with means for effecting lateral movement of the ashes thereon through said grate upon rotation of the hearth, and means for feeding fluid into the upper portion of the producer body.

10. In a gas producer, a body, a depending blast nozzle in the upper portion of said body, a heater box encircling the producer body, ducts leading from said heater box to said blast nozzle, means for feeding fluid to the heater box, an annular suction box 1 at the lower end .of the producer body provided with a plurality of gas inlet ports in the inner wall thereof, a suction pipe leading from said suction box, an annular grate depending from said suction box and forming a continuation thereof, and an imperforate circular hearth rotatably supported in the space surrounded by said annular grate, the supporting surface of said hearth being formed of a plurality of stepped platforms, a portion of which are positioned above the top of said annular grate, and a portion of which are positioned below the top of said annular grate.

11. In a gas producer, a body, a blast nozzle extending downwardly into the upper portion of the body, a hearth rotatably supported in the lower portion of the body,

said hearth being provided with a supporting surface of stepped eccentric platforms, the faces of which are inclined, and a suction pipe communicating with the-portion of pro-ducer body surrounding the ash zone abOWB said hearth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT F. MATLAOK.

Witnesses: 1

C. J. ALLEN,

E. N. M; SEARCH. 

